Tag Archives: Social Care

According to figures from Carers UK, around one in eight adults in the UK acts as a carer for a loved one. That’s a massive 6.5 million people in total, and that’s only set to continue to grow in the coming years. Every day a further 6,000 people take on caring responsibilities, with the total likely to pass nine million by 2037.

However, a recent survey by YouGov on behalf of Carers Trust has highlighted the lack of Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) agreements in place for carers. The survey found that a massive 82% of respondents had not made an LPA, while even among those who had there were concerning gaps in the understanding of the different types of LPA.

But in truth, an LPA is a sensible move in these circumstances. LPAs allow an appointed ‘attorney’ to make certain decisions on behalf of someone if they are no longer able to make those decisions for themselves. They come in two distinct forms – a property and financial affairs LPA, and a health and welfare LPA – though you can go for a combined version which encompasses both.

Having an LPA in place can make life much easier for carers. For example, it may be that the person you care for needs to make changes to their home in order to continue living there, such as the installation of a ramp for wheelchair access. Without an LPA, the carer would not be able to use your money to pay for that ramp, so may end up turning to expensive credit, adding to their worries.

Carers are often best placed to know exactly what is best for the people they care for and what decisions they would make if they still had the ability to do so. An LPA empowers carers to make just those decisions with confidence.

Jon O’Brien our Power of Attorney specialist said: “Millions of people act as carers for loved ones across the nation, which can be a stressful role at the best of times. But without an LPA in place, it can make looking after that loved one so much harder. Arranging an LPA is very simple, inexpensive and can deliver peace of mind.”

He left a fortune of £2,740,000 from which the ex-Prime Minister received the sum of £300,000, but what is interesting is that:-

He appointed his children as Executors and Trustees.

He and his wife owned their home as Tenants in Common rather than joint owners.

His half of the home went into Trust rather than directly to his widow.

Trusts have been instrumental in mitigating tax since the Medieval times. Trusts were initially created for the Nobility and wealthy landowners to avoid paying taxes to the Crown. Nowadays, you don’t have to be a Nobleman, or a wealthy landowner to want to take advantage of the many tax strategies Trusts can provide.

The use of Trusts ensures that assets are protected from attack from the following.

Care Fees

Divorce / Separation

Creditors / Bankruptcy

Inheritance Tax

Generational Inheritance Tax

We have advised many clients from all walks of life in protecting their homes and other assets, so that their children and grandchildren can maximise their inheritance, and we have now launched a fixed price package to specifically tackle the above problems at an affordable price for all home owners and from all walks of life.

Firstly you will receive a free no obligation home visit from one of our trained consultants which usually takes about 1hr where you can ask any questions and discuss the matter in more detail.

Once you have decided to proceed we will take all the necessary instructions and then commence constructing a Will each, a Flexible Family Trust each with Memorandum of Wishes and also a Deed of Severance. Within approximately 2 weeks your consultant will return with all the documents for signing.

On first death, the deceased’s share of the property is passed into their Flexible Family Trust via the Will. The surviving Spouse or Partner continues to live in the property and is still able to move home if they choose to do so. In the event that the survivor enters care, the survivor only owns half a share of the family home.

The beneficiaries have access to the Trust Funds but we ensure that these assets do not enter their estates and so are protected from attack by the following:

Marriage after Death – Placing half of the family home and other assets into a Trust on first death ensures that, should the surviving spouse or partner marry in the future, those assets cannot be taken into the marriage and removes the threat of your children being disinherited.

Divorce – Placing your assets into a trust ensures if your children or chosen beneficiaries are subject to a divorce then what you intended them to receive is protected from any divorce settlements.

Creditors – Similarly if any of your beneficiaries are subject to Creditor claims or bankruptcy then their inheritance would not be exposed to these claims.

Care Costs – The trust ensures that they do not add onto the beneficiaries own estates and so cannot be assessed for their care costs.

Further or Generational IHT – Holding the assets in the trust ensures that they do not add to the beneficiaries estates and impact on their own Inheritance Tax.

For more information, please call 0161 771 2056 or simply complete the form below
and one of our consultants will gladly answer any questions you may have.

It’s no secret that there is a care crisis in the UK.

In order to deliver social care, the Government is being forced to consider increasing council tax to help cover the costs. However, the cost facing the individual, should they require care, could be very high too.

If you have savings and assets worth more than £23,250 in England and Northern Ireland (rising to £24,000 in Wales or £26,250 in Scotland), or a weekly income high enough to cover care fees, then you will not be eligible for local authority funding. In other words, you’ll have to pay for your own care.

In order to reduce their care liabilities, older people may therefore look to giving away their assets to loved ones. However, where gifting is concerned, there are strict rules which must be followed.

Deliberate deprivation

It’s not easy to hide the fact that you may have tried to give your property away to your children or grandchildren. Local authorities will carry out a financial assessment, looking not only at your current assets, but also those that you have previously owned.

If they believe you have given away assets intentionally, in order to qualify for funding from the local authority, they may find that you have indulged in ‘deliberate deprivation’. This may include selling assets for less than their true value, as well as giving them away.

What makes it deliberate?

To determine whether the disposal of assets was deliberate, the local authority will look at a number of things. These include:
– What your apparent motive was,
– The timing of the gift (i.e. the time between you realising you need care and when you disposed of the asset),
– The amount of assets involved.

For example, they are less likely to investigate you if you give away £500 than if you are handing over £50,000.

If it is found that you have deliberately deprived yourself of those assets, even if you no longer own them, their value may be considered in the financial assessment. If the local authority does fund someone’s care costs, and later discover that the individual deliberately deprived themselves of assets, they can pursue that asset transferee in order to recover some of those care costs.

It’s not just during your life that you need to carefully plan how to hand your assets over to your loved ones. It is also vital to put together a plan for what happens after you die. This means ensuring you have a professional will in place. With important issues such as these, it pays to work with those who really know what they are doing. We can help.

For more information with protecting your assets during your lifetime and after your death call Finance North Estate Planning Services on 0161 771 2056, or enter your details in the enquiry form below.